As a startup gains traction from initial prototype to credible sales, the founding team recognizes the critical need to bring onboard senior advisors and mentors to provide guidance as the startup enters the next phase of growth. While all startups require this guidance and mentorship, enterprise startups are the most in need.

Over the years, at Just For Laughs and Airborne Mobile, I've never been a major fan of focus groups for multiple reasons; most notably because the people gather to tell you exactly what they figure you want to hear. But in this group the men said things to try to appear smart. The women said smart things.

When I started my new job with Freelancer.com, I was researching where and who to reach out to in Canada and I quickly realized the force that is the Ottawa start up scene. Sure it's the capital and that should be an obvious choice however I found something truly unique. The startup community is very creative and keen plus they are very adept at getting the government to pay attention.

If you are an entrepreneur, be proud to hold this title and live up to its name. Also understand that you are leading a long overdue generational shift across sectors and it will take some time before your path may be embraced by all. Don't let the resistance discourage you from your ambitions.

Coworking spaces are emerging as the new work environment of choice. Today, shared spaces around the world are bringing increased levels of happiness, productivity and collaboration to their members, and at a price far more affordable than the alternative. So here they are, five reasons to close the door on private offices.

While building a start-up based purely on an exit strategy is incompetent, not at least considering it is equally incompetent. As any start-up founder will confess, building a start-up because you are passionate about the topic or industry is best way to succeed. However, just letting go is the best option for both the start-up and its founders.

I have often thought it would be cool to own a yoga studio and as I type this blog, I am actually sitting in my very own studio gulping down a protein shake. How did it happen? Well that's a good question because it happened in one just one week, (well sort of...).

There are many acquisitions that have raised eyebrows or resulted in a general state of confusion among observers, both within and outside of the tech industry. Sometimes, acquisitions are made that don't seem to make any sense, at least not on the surface. Below are three such acquisitions made by tech companies this year and some educated speculation as to why they might have occurred.

I got involved with Startup Weekend four years ago because I firmly believe that entrepreneurship is the most powerful way to build a strong, sustainable, innovation­-based economy. Having seen Startup Weekend grow and flourish in Toronto over the last four years, I have no doubt that we will see a game changing education project come out of this local entrepreneurial community.

I first saw Robbie Whiting in 2012 at South by Southwest, where he gave a daring presentation on the death of the advertising agency model. At the time, he was Director of Creative Technology at Duncan/Channon, an agency which has applied a unique approach to attracting new business: Making things. He's since launched his own agency: Argonaut.

Accelerators are like a "Boot Camp" for Start-Ups. You must apply to an accelerator, and you must meet certain requirements to be considered. Once chosen, you are given resources and guidance to get your company to the next level. Recently, I spoke with Roger Chabra of RHO Ventures about his perspective on the state of funding, accelerators, and start-ups in Canada.

For almost as long as email has existed, people have complained about getting too many emails. We celebrate inbox zero as if we just gave birth to a new child. While some lauded the arrival of the first BlackBerry, many saw it as a digital manifestation of the ball and chain that would shackle them to their office.

As CEO of a product testing company, I have encountered hundreds of entrepreneurs with unique ideas who are quite brilliant and determined and who have the guts to take a concept and turn it into a business. Most of them stumble with their pricing model. If you scare off a customer with your pricing from the outset, you will likely brand yourself as "that expensive company."

Calgary-based DIRTT Environmental Solutions will share their insights on how you can turn "good" business practices into a competitive advantage. DIRTT has been lauded as a "Rockstar of the New Economy" by Fast Co. for its ability to achieve high growth and high social and environmental impact.

In short, everything that you thought the Internet wasn't about in a world of 140 character tweets, Facebook status updates and YouTube viral video sensations. These deep and rich treasure troves of content are also gaining mainstream attention, and it all seems to be drawing more and more energy towards podcasting: a medium that many have already written off.

If you take a serious look at the media world, there are only a handful of significant players. While it may be easy to define "significant" as a company doing interesting things, it's more practical to look at the media landscape. Last time I checked, no media company was behind the creation of Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or any other new media darling du jour. My guess is that they'll be investors as soon as they physically can be.

Recently, a very senior marketing professional who works at one of the world's largest corporations was recounting a story of how they saw a postal truck outside of their corporate head offices in Silicon Valley, and every single parcel that was being offloaded from this truck was from Amazon. He thought to himself: "This is the what retail looks like in 2012."